I am the love tribulation of the Merciless Daoist Immortal (Part 1) "Technology and...

"Failing to enlighten the people and monopolizing knowledge...what's the difference between this and raising wild beasts?" The captain's voice trembled with anger.

Jiang Qingshu laughed sarcastically, "How can a beast provide the people's support for those in power?"

"But if we do this, the wisdom of the people and the progress of society will continue to regress. As those in power, they are closely related to this. Have they not considered this issue?"

"Of course they considered it, but they didn't care."

"It's like the immortals don't care about mortals."

"In their eyes, everything can be compromised in order to achieve immortality."

Jiang Qingshu sighed, "Besides, in the eyes of those in power, such people are easier to control. Knowledge is firmly in the hands of those at the top of the pyramid, which greatly limits the emergence of noble sons from poor families and grassroots heroes, and the throne under their buttocks is more stable."

The captain said in disbelief, "Different human thoughts will constantly inject new vitality into things and promote their development and progress. Anything that is monopolized or not popular is at risk of losing its vitality. If they do this, aren't they afraid that knowledge and technology will gradually be lost and no one will understand them?"

Jiang Qingshu said, "In fact, this situation has already occurred after only two generations of emperors."

"They care, but they don't care that much. As the people in power, they just need to know more than most people."

"So they built aristocratic schools. The more powerful people were, the more ways they could acquire knowledge, hoping that the 'more noble' people would master more knowledge. With this group of people who accounted for only 1% of the country's population but controlled 99% of the country's wealth, they could continue to advance the development of knowledge and various fields."

The captain shook his head, "Impossible."

Jiang Qingshu sighed, "Yeah, that's impossible."

Human power is sometimes limited.

How can hundreds of people understand and remember all the vast knowledge?

So, generation after generation, knowledge and experience become less and less, and society regresses faster and faster.

So the steam engine was swallowed by the flames of the stove; the spinning Jenny was worn out by the repeated shaking of the spinning wheel; the seismometer was buried in the earthquake; and the paper was buried under the bamboo slips and animal skins.

The captain asked, "So not even one emperor realized this problem and tried to make changes?"

Jiang Qingshu smiled and said, "Of course there is, but it won't succeed."

"Because it is too easy to win the hearts of the people this way."

"Once you're used to taking shortcuts, it's hard to walk step by step carefully."

"Later, a few emperors actually found this to be dangerous and wanted to build more schools to enlighten the people."

“But I can’t.”

"Because the emperor's actions violated the interests of all nobles."

"They are used to being the superiors, so how can they tolerate these 'low-lifes' having the same knowledge as them, and even the possibility of them surpassing them?"

"Besides, only the nobles have the knowledge. How many nobles are willing to teach this group of 'untouchables'?"

“So later on, it just came to nothing.”

"A stubborn emperor will have his 'close ministers' to help him 'clean up his court'."

"The fight for the throne will not stop. They have united to eliminate the possibility of civilian rebellion, cultivate a group of obedient people, and solve their worries. Then they can devote all their efforts to the fight for the throne."

"They don't have to worry about the people's feelings, because this group of 'fools' don't care who is the emperor, and naturally they won't rebel. They are just like a group of panicked sheep, being driven around and then accepting their fate."

“No matter how those at the top fight, it’s only the people who suffer.”

"When prosperity comes, the people suffer. When decline comes, the people suffer."

The captain pursed his lips tightly, "What happened next? This governance model doesn't look like it will last forever."

Jiang Qingshu smiled and said, "You are right."

"In this social environment, ordinary people are like consumables, and their number is decreasing."

"Naturally, there are fewer and fewer mortals who are qualified to cultivate immortality."

"The number of mortals has dropped sharply, causing a sharp drop in the number of new generations in the cultivation world, so there has been a gap in inheritance and knowledge."

"I don't know if it's because of the punishment from heaven or something else, but under this background, the spiritual energy gradually became thinner until it was almost gone."

"The era of the ancient cultivation world has ended."

Jiang Qingshu moved his shoulders. "When the spiritual energy period turned into the micro-spiritual energy period, there was a big break in the cultivation techniques, leaving only the basic techniques. People with qualifications could not be trained, and naturally became like everyone else. As a result, the inheritance became weaker and weaker, forming a vicious cycle."

"But what's going to happen is that without the interference of spiritual energy, ordinary people can finally breathe, and a new social system that can take better care of ordinary people is gradually established."

"The speed at which spiritual energy decreases is getting faster and faster, until it disappears completely, entering a period without spiritual energy. Gods and ghosts completely become myths and legends, and the technological age has arrived."

The captain's face was solemn. "Now, the spiritual energy is about to revive again. I have to report the problem you mentioned before to the higher-ups. We must not allow society to regress completely!"

Jiang Qingshu nodded, "Please feel free to do so. I am also worried about this happening. Although the revival of spiritual energy is a good thing for me to improve my cultivation, the life in this era is more convenient and harmonious than the era I lived in back then. The way people get along with each other is more gentle. I don't want to go back to the era when human life was worthless."

The team leader nodded seriously, "We exist to prevent any behavior that harms social progress."

I heard their entire conversation and said, "Perhaps you don't have to be so cautious."

"One of the reasons why the cultivation world fell into that situation was the single power system and monopoly."

Monopoly not only causes knowledge to lose its vitality, but it is also true in all fields, including product research and development.

My company's technology, except for a few dangerous core technologies, has little monopoly. Only by bringing products and technologies to the general public can we promote the continuous progress of society and everyone will benefit from it. As a member of the vast majority of people, I am naturally among them. Even because of my business empire and my status as the center of the world, I will gain more convenience than others.

Weakening others in order to stand out is the most foolish behavior. I disdain this. What I love to do most is to crush others with my strength and lead the companies behind me.

I like everyone to only see my back, but not in a suppressive way.

The two of them, even the Immortal in the cage, looked at me, waiting for my explanation.

The captain and Jiang Qingshu had already vaguely guessed my thoughts. The captain's eyes lit up slightly, and Jiang Qingshu seemed to be thinking about something.

I said, "In addition to cultivating immortals, the power system in this world now also includes supernatural powers, martial arts, and technology. If the path of cultivating immortals is not feasible for those who are obsessed with pursuing power, they can still choose other power systems."

"Even if cultivation, supernatural powers, and martial arts all require qualifications, technology does not."

"There are so many ways to enjoy the fruits of science and technology. Even the most unambitious people can enjoy the communication convenience of intelligent brains, the transportation convenience of flying cars, the medical convenience of nanorobots, and many more technological advances that benefit the general public."

"If he has the scientific research qualifications, he can join the research institute and continue to study in the field he is interested in, becoming a scientific research star and benefiting the local area."

"If he does not have the scientific research qualifications, he can also pursue business acumen and use money to exchange for higher technological convenience."

"As long as you are willing to move forward, you will always find the ladder that suits you, instead of just seeking immortality and asking for advice, pinning all your hopes for the future on illusory gods and Buddhas, which will lead to paranoia and inner demons."

Jiang Qingshu frowned slightly, "But, there are also differences in power systems. What if the cultivation system surpasses the technological system..."

I smiled and said, “They are not in an antagonistic relationship, but a symbiotic relationship.”

"Look at my research institute. The researcher with super memory ability is responsible for data sorting; the researcher with wood ability cultivates drought-resistant, flood-resistant and insect-resistant grains with twice the result with half the effort; the researcher with digital sensitivity has made some achievements in the field of intelligent brain research and development."

"Virtual VR has been used to train martial arts and enhance combat experience. Those who have awakened fire-related abilities can improve their Flame Palm skills by leaps and bounds. Those who have water-related abilities can go to arid desert areas and turn them into oases. The green trees will generate more spiritual energy, turning lifeless areas into places where spirits gather."

“What flying magic treasures can do, flying cars can also do; the thousand-mile sound transmission that only Yuanying can use can be realized by intelligent brains; the wish to fly into the sky and the sea can be achieved by airplanes, spaceships, and submarines; therefore, when cultivation is not the only life-saving straw, everyone will not sink to the bottom of the sea together.”

"In our era, the tragedy of the ancient cultivation world will never happen again."

The cage suddenly made a slight sound.

I looked down and saw that the Immortal Lord stretched his body, looking at me without blinking, with eyes like stars.